Fun with funiculars
I can’t believe I’ve been driving through Dubuque for years and have never ridden the funicular there until last Monday! For shame!
So, what is a funicular, beyond another word I have a hard time pronouncing? Let’s consult good ole Wikipedia:
A funicular is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each other. Its name derives from the latin, funiculus, diminutive of funis, meaning “rope”.
The Dubuque funicular (aka Fenelon Place Elevator, aka Fourth Street Elevator) is not the first one I have ridden. The first was in Orvieto, Italy, in January of 2006!
We rode up over 500 feet to get to the city center, and see these amazing views:
Ahh, I would love to go back. That cathedral! So amazing!
Oops. I digress.
The reason the Dubuque funicular was initially built is humorous to me. J.K. Graves lived on the top of the bluff and worked on the bottom. He liked to go home for lunch and eat then take a nap (aww, yeah) but couldn’t fit that in his allocated lunch break – it took too long to get his horse and buggy around the bluff to the top, and back down.
So in 1882, Graves hired John Bell to design a cable car to go straight up the bluff to save him time. He was granted the right to build it June 5 that year, and it operated for the first time July 25 – fast construction! Then he had enough time to eat AND nap. Ahhh.
Of course, the elevator burned down several times throughout history. In 1893, Graves couldn’t afford to rebuild it, so he gave ten neighbors (who had come to rely on it) the rights to the track, and they formed the Fenelon Place Elevator Company. Eventually, one neighbor become the sole stock holder. I am not sure who runs it now – maybe the same family? Maybe the city? But it’s open April through November and fun (and cheap!) to ride!
The Dubuque funicular claims to be the shortest and steepest funicular in the world (and like most claims, others make the same claim, ha). Um, yeah. It’s steep – it travels a vertical elevation of 98 feet at an angle of 106 degrees! Eek!
I thought Luca would get a kick of out riding the funicular, because he loves all things transportation (and I love that about him!). Many trains travel by where my family has homes in Guttenberg, so it was an exciting weekend for him (but more about their visit, later!).
There were great views of downtown Dubuque from the top of the bluff. And you can see three states – Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin!
We could see where the half marathon we did that morning started and ended (indicated by the white arrow above).
Click image to see larger
There was a display at the house on top of the bluff of different funicular postcards from around the world (that riders had mailed to Dubuque!). It would be fun to ride these in other cities! I’ll have to consult this list if I am every traveling, to see if one exists.
And I have to see what other things I am missing out in in Dubuque* that I need to explore with my family and otra familia next summer!
*Apparently, not this cave. We were going to go, then read some horrible reviews of it, ha ha.
James Parker!
My younger brother and his wife had their baby at 12:14 am on Saturday August 29th. His name is James Parker, and he was 8 lbs 10 oz, and 22 inches when he was born.
I got to meet him last Friday!!!
My sister-in-law, brother, and James are doing really well, and it made me happy to see them so happy. Although it’s still super crazy to me to think of my younger brother being a dad! We’re all growing up! Sniff, sniff. Ha.
Welcome to the world, James Parker! I love you, and can’t wait to watch you grow, and be a part of your life!
Benefit Classic Half Marathon Race Report 2015
Ugh, this race. What was I thinking, doing it again?
Steven told me “I got a photo that makes it look like you are part of a crime scene!” Ha ha ha.
Ha, I know EXACTLY what I was thinking – “We’ll be near Dubuque for Labor Day with Gina and Steve and fam – we should totally do that race again! MUST ALWAYS FIND A RACE WHEN WE’RE TOGETHER!” Bad, Kim. BAD!
What’s so bad? Eh, to plan to do a race after a weekend when you’ve been in the sun all day. And when you don’t feel like eating because you got so sick a few days before. And when it’s hella humid*. Excuses, excuses. There’s nothing wrong with the race itself – just me, thinking I should EVER do a half marathon in the summer months.
So… yeah. Fun times! Ha. When we started the Benefit Classic Half Marathon on Monday, I told Gina and Steve I would shoot for 10:00s, but doubted I could hit that place, and would probably end up around 10:30s. I positive split the hell out of this, and finished in 2:20:59, with an average 10:45 pace. Every mile was slower than the one before, and I started taking a one minute walk break every half mile for the last 3-4 miles. But hey! I ran it faster than last year (when we had similar weather)! And actually, felt decent enough. Just thirsty and drenched. And SO over running in weather that makes me feel that way.
Fake smiles at the finish!
I tried to keep it slow in the beginning so I wouldn’t have a positive split, but I still started out too fast. It’s not the easiest course to negative split. The race starts at Eagle Point Park, which overlooks the Mississippi River and Lock and Dam #11. You run out of the park and down toward the lock & dam… then back up! The hill at the end is nasty (and no fun to go down in the beginning IF you are trying to go slow, ha!):
I ran with Gina and Steve for almost 9 miles until I told Steve to go ahead because I didn’t want to see them a few steps in front of me anymore**. Bitchy, much? Ha. They finished about 6 minutes ahead of me, and thought the race was equally challenging… and equally not super fun (but well organized and all that, etc.).
But at least there are nice views!
And we had spectators!
And went to Red Robin after!
And we talked to some cool people during and after the race, and someone told me they liked my tattoo (first time that has happened while running!).
This is the last race I was signed up for this year! I have a few 5Ks in mind that I may sign up for day of, but that’s it! Makes me wonder what will happen in the last four months of running this year…
*But… I will take those high temps and humidity when I am visiting the Mississippi River – I want it HOT HOT HOT! If we hadn’t signed up for this race, we’d probably had have perfect racing temps, ha ha ha!
**Although, this made me realize why I don’t prefer to run with more than one person and why I really don’t like running in big groups – I tend to slow down and go to the back and hang by myself… then I don’t see the point in running with people. I’ve been doing this for YEARS.
Training Week 307
Highlight of the Week: Surviving!
Monday | August 31, 2015: 5 m run + 7 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 71°/75°, Time: 49:53, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, but spent
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 74°/75°, Time: 1:11:14, Pace: 10:15 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but soooo sweaty/hot
Strength: Soft balls and dumbbells mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: hyper
Tuesday | September 1, 2015: 11 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail to Nippersink FP, Temp: 69°/69°, Time: 2:05:42, Pace: 11:25 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: horribly sweaty and gross
Wednesday | September 2, 2015: rest
Thursday | September 3, 2015: 4 m run (incl. 3×800) + 20 min ride
Loc: hood, Temp: 82°/82°, Time: 39:01, Pace: 9:45 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: like I was melting
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 87°/87°, Time: 20:00, Pace: 12.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (but why so windy?)
Friday | September 4, 2015: teaching strength class
Strength: Soft balls and dumbbells mixed mode, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Saturday | September 5, 2015: 6.4 m run (w/Gina)
Loc: Guttenberg, Temp: 71°/73°, Time: 1:09:32, Pace: 10:52 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: no bueno
Sunday | September 6, 2015: 5 m run (w/Gina & Steve) + OWS
Loc: Guttenberg, Temp: 74°/73°, Time: 48:53, Pace: 9:46 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Notes:
- Summer returned in full force this week and it affected my runs BIG TIME. I started and ended my week with decent runs, but the ones in between were horrible, with my worst one of the summer being on Saturday. Gina and I headed out for 10 miles and I had to call it quits just after 6. Beyond being drenched in sweat, I felt like my equilibrium was WAY off. It didn’t help that I hadn’t eaten much since breakfast the day before (and had thrown up my breakfast that afternoon). It really didn’t make sense to still try for 10 miles, but of course, I wanted to. I started to feel better on Sunday, and hopefully will feel back to normal this week (and maybe some of the nasty humidity will go away!). I was frustrated about feeling so crummy this weekend though – I’ve been waiting all summer to run with Gina and Steve in Guttenberg, and I couldn’t enjoy it as much as normal since I felt so blah.
- Ha, that “OWS” (open water swim). On Sunday, we decided it would be fun to float down the river, which we’ve done a few times before. But there were such strong winds that we were either floating in place or being pushed upstream! So we created a floating caravan and I pulled a few people down the river. That definitely counts for cross training, right?!
- Time for an August training recap! I ran 207.3 miles and cycled 47.6 in August. I taught 10 strength classes and swam 3 times (and one of those swims was part of a relay triathlon team!). This was the first month I didn’t teach any weekend classes at the studio, but I am scheduled for one in September. September will probably be similar to August, other than that. And hopefully it will include some cool weather runs!
Process based vs results based
I’ve been thinking about the first post I wrote about knitting – NOPE. Not a perfectionist. (For now?). Basically, everything I wrote in it turned out to be true – my first washcloth I knitted looked horrible, but showed progress as I moved along. I did stick with knitting and got better at it*. And I HAVE tried to make the things I knit for people** have as few flaws in them as possible. Not “perfect,” but as close as I can get.
I am not results based by any stretch of the imagination, so caring so much about how something turns out is new territory for me. And honestly, I think it’s good for me. Why not care about it, for once?
Ha, that makes me sound like some sort of jerk who never cares about anything. That’s not true! I’m just more process based for things that have a defined completion. Like training for a race, projects at work, or knitting something.
In racing? Eh, I definitely care how the race turns out, but I don’t get upset if things went to crap. I care more about the training and everything that led up to it. That’s where the joy lies, for me.
My job at work is to assist clients with design requirements and how their space will be laid out. But because of the way our divisions are set up at work, the project moves on to someone else and I rarely see the finished space. This has DEFINITELY made me process based, at work! I often have no idea what the results were! We obviously plan toward an ideal result, when working with the client, but not seeing the outcome*** really skews things for me.
And then knitting. I am still surprised I am doing it, because I’m not crafty at all, but I’ve found it’s something, that again, I immensely enjoy the process of. It’s so satisfying to see whatever I am working on “grow,” row by row. Sometimes a project surprises me – the yarn or pattern looks different than I thought it would – and that’s exciting for me. But… I have found that I am thinking about the end result much more than I tend to, compared to other things I work on.
There have been a few mistakes in the baby blanket but I’ve caught them and fixed them! Phew! I really want that to turn out nice (since it’s taking SO DAYUM LONG… and for my new nephew!!!).
I have to fix mistakes as soon as I find them (which is frustrating, but satisfying when it’s done). I have to plan out how much yarn I will need (ugh, planning). I have to figure out how big the thing will be. I have to constantly tell myself “Kim, this is a gift for someone else, and you don’t want a shoddy end-result with your name attached to it. FOCUS!” Ha ha.
Like I said, it’s good for me, just different.
And truthfully, not caring so much about end results before is probably what has kept me from doing crafty things. I know it’s kept me from doing house projects. And, any projects. I spent so much time in college building things with my hands that I have just been OVER it for a loooooong time. I didn’t want to have to think about how things were going to turn out. I didn’t want to be “graded” on it, anymore.
Maybe I am changing!
*still have so much to learn! yay!
**everything I knit – I haven’t made anything for me, yet!
***one of my current projects is not a typical one at all, and I am acting as the project manager instead of designer, so I will get to see how things turn out!
The forgotten month
When I was learning the months of the year as a kid, I always forgot September. I recalled the other months by associating them with holidays and birthdays, but I had nada for September (Labor Day doesn’t mean much to a kid, you know?).
I remember feeling puzzled when the amount of months I remembered didn’t add up to twelve. In my mind, the calendar went straight from August to October! What really happens in September, anyway, for a kid (ugh, except being in school for the full month, blah)?
I eventually starting remembering September (obviously, ha ha), and now, it’s funny to me, that as an adult, it’s one of my favorite months! I think the reason I didn’t remember it as a kid is what I love about it now – September is subtle. It’s when summer slips away to fall (yay!). Your calendar starts to clear up. You have more free time*. It’s the rest before the holiday season starts (earlier and earlier, each year). A time to recharge and refocus!
Ahhh.
Here are two photos from my first September run (yesterday). I knew it would be a foggy morning and ran to my favorite forest preserve for taking fog photos.
Happy September!
*Well, I do. But I don’t have kids going back to school with lots of activities.
Eww
After you’ve run on crushed limestone, your shoes should look like this:
not this:
and your socks definitely should not be leaving spots like this on the ground!
Welcome back, summer! As challenging as you make my runs, you’re here just in time for my last beach visit of the year!
But seriously, all the sweat running down my legs in to my socks is making so many of my running shoes ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING SMELLING, eww, eww, eww! I should dedicate one pair to the nasty swampy runs. OR wash a pair. OR not run in the am when the humidity is so high (seriously, I’ve been running later in the day when it’s hotter and less humid and it makes me feel less like death… odd, but I’ll take it!).
Eight
Woo hoo, eight years married*, today!
^inside of my wedding band, in case I forget, ha! Steven has it in his, too.
Another year, no plans. Although that photo is making me feel REALLY hungry for cake! Maybe we need cake plans.
Dayum. Our cake was so good. We ordered it from Deerfields Bakery (this is before I was vegan). The cake was marble, with alternating chocolate and regular buttercream between each level. AND, we ordered two extra sheet cakes, because I LOVE CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK** and wanted everyone to be able to eat as much as they wanted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha ha ha, this plan backfired a bit. We had so much leftover cake (I know, you’re thinking, “that is a problem how…?”) that our fridge was full of it. And we kept eating it. Then we thought the fridge was broken because nothing was staying cool, so we threw what cake we had left out (minus the frozen top teir, of course), along with some other food.
Then after we threw it out, we realized the cake box was too big and that was keeping the fridge door open. Oops! The fridge was working fine after all (once you closed the door)! Ha!
But I digress, with all that cake talk. What I often think about on our anniversary, beyond how happy I am to have Steven as my partner-in-crime, is how I don’t keep in touch with three of my (four) bridesmaids! Eek! It’s funny to me, that at the time I was getting married, I struggled to think of three people to be bridesmaids (beyond my snister as my maid-of-honor, obvs), because I had so few friends. If I was getting married today, that wouldn’t be a problem! And I bet Steven would still ask the same four guys to be groomsmen.
Anyways. We’re a very happy family of three! And this is a COMPLETELY horrible photo, but I have to show how Data participated in the wedding – by being front and center when we opened gifts the day after!
I love how he has his feet resting on Steven’s shoe – what a goofball! (Also, I have since learned how to sit in a chair with a skirt on.)
*I almost wrote “together,” but that’s not right – we’ve been together thirteen years on September 11th!
**It’s a thing for me and Gina to call it CAK, instead of CAKE, when we are excited about it…
Camping at Devil’s Lake State Park
It seems like people have been giving us rave reviews of Devil’s Lake State Park (in Wisconsin) since we moved to Illinois:
“The hiking is amazing!”
“It’s beautiful!”
“The landscape doesn’t seem like it belongs in Wisconsin!”
“The lake and beach are great!”
And warnings:
“It’s very popular – you have to book your campsite months in advance.”
Hearing all that, it’s a place we’ve wanted to check out for a long time, and finally did this weekend, with Rachel and her husband! And we did book our campsite months in advance – at the beginning of April. Ha, gave us lots of time to look forward to it, right?!
Unfortunately, with booking months in advance (or really, a week in advance), you don’t know what the weather is going to be like, and our first night (Friday) at the campsite had storms so we decided to head up Saturday morning, instead of camping there two nights as planned*.
It was still really foggy and overcast when we got there, and I wondered if it would clear up! Rachel and I went on a run where we climbed and climbed and we weren’t even awarded with a view! Ha ha. The fog looked neat (and eerie!) though!
We took the East Bluff Woods Trail up
And I have to say, right away, it did feel like we were somewhere… not in Wisconsin. Ha! Devil’s Lake was created 12,000 years ago during the last ice age (source) when a glacier deposited moraines at two gaps between the Baraboo Hills. The Baraboo Hills have been there for over a billion years, and are known for their 500-foot-high quartzite bluffs! Bluffs like that are definitely not something I am used to seeing around here!
Click on image to see larger
After our run, we set up camp, made lunch, and it started to clear up! Beyond the storms the previous night, the temperature was great for camping – we could hike without feeling horrible, and sleep comfortably (as much as you can in a tent, anyway). There weren’t even that many bugs! Whuuuuuut?!?!
Rachel and Steven and I set out for a hike on Saturday. Ha. It turned in to a bit of a epic hike, due to a trail closure. We started out on the easy East Bluff Trail, to get views of the lake and see rock formations…
We saw a whole group hiking with their remote control cars! Fun!
… then when we got to the trail junction, the trail we planned to take down the bluff was closed so we had to hike down a 400′ drop in .3 miles (on the Potholes Trail)! And Steven had his DSLR on him! Eek! That was interesting. I slipped twice, once grabbing a tree before falling, and the second time, landing on my butt. It didn’t help that the lady behind me would say “watch out!” Um… yeah, I am. It was still a bit slick out from the previous night’s rain. That hike down was SCARY! It definitely would have been easier to go up it. We couldn’t believe we saw people carrying babies, going up! I hope they took an easier route down!
We were relived when we got to flat land, and took the long way back, along the Tumbled Rocks Trail on the other side of the lake. I thought it was really cool we got to go all the way around the lake. We hiked nearly 6 miles!
Which means when we got back, we were exhausted. Steven and I took a short nap**, then we all started dinner when we got up. Rachel and I had discussed meal ideas earlier in the week, and she very helpfully made a list of who should bring what (with her bringing much more of the camping supplies – they camp way more than us and it was nice for us to rely on them for some equipment!). We had canned chili for lunch, burgers and potatoes for dinner, and pancakes and fruit for breakfast the next day.
Ha ha, now, a bit about the campsite. The campsites are nice, with lots of amenities at the beaches. We were close enough to a bathroom with actual plumbing (there were pit toilets as well), and single stall showers that were a generous size (!!!). However… we all decided the campsite, in general, was too open for us . We got a site (#163 here) on the very edge, next to the woods, which made it feel more private, but we were right next to a major part of the campground road. And we could still see and hear everyone and everything. Camping isn’t about peace and quiet at a place like that, obviously, but we’re all the type that desire a bit more seclusion.
And we think that because our campsite was really close to the woods, our fire pit didn’t have any holes in it to let air in (so as to keep the fire smaller and under control?), so keeping a fire going took a lot of work! We were able to cook all our food, but not without some frustration (on everyone else’s end – I was all “derpitty do”).
With no fire, and feeling so tired from hiking, we went to bed nice and early on Saturday night! Ahhh! We brought our big (now, only*) tent, and it’s comfortable to sleep in. I did have to get up twice for the venture to the bathroom though, and to get more blankets. And I was having really horrible dreams. Eek!
But I woke up excited for pancakes, and to hike a trail on the opposite side of the lake!
This time, Rachel and Kevin and I went out for a hike. We took the West Bluffs Trail up and the Tumbled Rocks Trail back to where we started.
It was a less challenging hike than the day before, but we still hiked almost 4 miles, and my body still felt it, ha! Rachel and I were really impressed to see people running up the steeper trails. And really, running down them – the declines are no joke! There is actually a race series on these trails – Dances with Dirt – and after hiking there, I just can’t imagine trying to go any long distance there. Although, the course map makes it look like the races stay away from the bluffs. Anyway. Totally not on my radar. Really, hiking made me feel a bit out of shape, so maybe getting a bit healthier should be on my radar! Moving on…
We packed up after our hike, checked out the beach for a bit (brrr! but it felt so good on our legs), then headed home. The campground is about a three hour drive from our house, and I could totally see us going there again – maybe for a day? Rachel was saying how beautiful it is in the fall when the leaves change color! I can only imagine!!!
It was a fun weekend and we would like to camp again with Rachel and Kevin, and I’d like to become a more efficient camping packer! I did really well this time – the only things I brought and didn’t use were some clothes and s’more ingredients (sadness) – but I feel like I could get better about packing. Despite putting everything in specific bags for certain activities and meals, I still felt like my stuff was all over and I was going back and forth to the car a lot. Hmm, maybe that is what this type of camping is all about?
*Ha, Steven actually camped the previous weekend too, and our small tent was destroyed by a storm the second night, so we were TOTALLY fine with not setting up our tent in a storm, then sleeping
**We woke up when someone drove by and yelled “I am going to eat every one of you!!!” Ha ha ha… ok?
Training Week 306
Highlight of the Week: Checking out Devil’s Lake State Park with Steven, Rachel and Kevin!
Monday | August 24, 2015: teaching strength class + 2 m run
Strength: soft balls, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 62°/61°, Time: 18:11, Pace: 9:04 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but tired and thirsty
Tuesday | August 25, 2015: rest (migraine)
Wednesday | August 26, 2015: 4 m run + 6 m run (incl. 6×400)
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 66°/65°, Time: 38:15, Pace: 9:33 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 64°/61°, Time: 55:24, Pace: 9:14 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but should have stopped at 4 repeats
Thursday | August 27, 2015: 10 m ride + 10 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail + hood, Temp: 65°/68°, Time: 43:42, Pace: 13.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 69°/68°, Time: 1:42:03, Pace: 10:12 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: spent
Friday | August 28, 2015: teaching strength class + 8.5 m run
Strength: soft balls, Difficulty: medium, Felt: okay
Loc: Des Plaines River Trail, Temp: 70°/72°, Time: 1:29:28, Pace: 10:31, Difficulty: easy, Felt: better than Thursday!
Saturday | August 29, 2015: 5.8 m run (w/Rachel) + 5.65 m hike (w/Rachel & Steven)
Loc: Devil’s Lake State Park, Temp: 60°, Time: 1:13:50, Pace: 12:45 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired
Loc: Devil’s Lake State Park, Temp: 60°, Time: 2:54:22, Difficulty: medium, Felt: decent
Sunday | August 30, 2015: 3.85 m hike (w/Rachel & Kevin)
Loc: Devil’s Lake State Park, Temp: 64°, Time: 1:45:47, Difficulty: medium/easy, Felt: good
Notes:
- I had planned a bit longer run on Monday, but I got this strange aura that spread across my eyes during the day and had to take a nap after work (before teaching) to try to get rid of it, so… no long run. Luckily, it went away! But it turned in to a migraine early Tuesday am. Grrrr.
- I’ve been so lazy with riding my bike since RAGBRAI. I still ride once a week, and get about 10 miles in, but I’ve totally prioritized running over riding. I no longer ride to train, but to cross train. I still really enjoy it and hope I make some time to do one or two more long rides before it’s too cold to ride outside!
- My legs were DEAD this week. It’s likely from two 50 mile running weeks in a row, then a leg intensive strength class on Monday. Needless to say… my runs and hikes were challenging this week!
- But, hiking! And running! At Devil’s Lake State Park! We camped there this weekend and had a great time. What a beautiful place to visit! And I actually got to RUN with someone – Rachel! I hadn’t run with another runner since we did the Full Moon 5K together! Guess that’s what happens when your running partner moves and you’re kind of a loner runner as it is…
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
